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Nicaragua

A total of 47 infant participants living in Leon, Nicaragua participated in a 6-month dietary intervention trial (from ages 6 months of age to 12 months of age) and were randomized into either a control group (no intervention, n=24) or heat-stabilized rice bran supplementation (1-5 grams daily consumption over the 6 months; n=23). The study objectives were to 1) assess feasibility of rice bran consumption in weaning children and 2) collect pilot data on gut microbiome and metabolome modulation with and without rice bran intakes for diarrheal prevention. This study is registered on clinicaltrials.gov for additional study information:

Development of a One Health Sampling Scheme for Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria

Antimicrobial resistant bacteria (ARB) are a growing threat with increasing global attention, but coordinated international surveillance is lacking. Despite calls for worldwide harmonized approaches across diverse sample medias, persistence of differing methodologies across disciplines and lack of comprehensive, but equally-feasible, monitoring methods between developed and developing country sites hinder an effective global "One Health" ARB surveillance scheme. An interdisciplinary team from Fort Collins, CO, is collaborating with researchers in León, Nicaragua and Chapel Hill, NC in order to identify and validate a surveillance method that is versatile in its ability to be used across animal, human and environmental medias. These studies are supported by CSU One Health Initiative and CSU Water Center.

Mali

Diarrhea and malnutrition represent leading causes of death for children in Mali. Understanding a community’s needs and ideas are critical to ensure the success of prevention and treatment interventions for diarrheal disease and malnutrition. The objective was to incorporate the Community Readiness Model (CRM) for the issues of childhood diarrheal disease and food security in Mali. The CRM assessment found that the community’s readiness fell within the preparation stage for both reducing childhood diarrheal diseases and improving food security. This stage indicates that at least some of the community does have basic knowledge regarding these issues, and they want to act locally to reduce childhood diarrhea and food insecurity. The questionnaires revealed the community’s interest and willingness to try novel prevention strategies, including improving the local food security with rice bran. This project preceded implementation of a dietary intervention trial with rice bran in weaning infants and provided essential baseline information to implement community-specific activities to improve these issues.